Internal combustion engines, including diesel engines, operate by the controlled combustion of hydrocarbon fuels and produce exhaust gases containing complete combustion products such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O), and incomplete combustion products such as carbon monoxide (CO) and unburned hydrocarbons (HC). Further, the very high temperatures produced by the burning of the hydrocarbon fuels with air results in the detrimental formation of nitrogen oxide compounds (NOx). Certain undesirable components of the exhaust, including CO, HC, NOx, and soot particulates must be controlled to meet government emissions regulations.
Diesel engines are characterized by higher thermal efficiency than gasoline engines because of their high compression ratios, but they typically generate higher levels of NOx and particulate emissions than gasoline engines. To reduce these emissions to required low levels, premixed diesel combustion technology is being developed that provides for the fuel-air charge to be well mixed and diluted, thereby enabling combustion to occur at low temperatures without local rich zones. One approach to premixed combustion is to reduce engine compression ratio, increase charge dilution with exhaust gas, and inject fuel incrementally into the cylinder during the compression stroke. Generally, this lengthens the ignition delay period to provide more time for fuel-air mixing. This approach works best at medium engine loads but not very well at high loads or very low loads. Engine load refers to relative torque, i.e., the ratio of actual torque to maximum torque at a given engine speed. Medium loads may be defined as lying between about one-third and about two-thirds of maximum torque. Accordingly, low loads are below about one-third maximum torque, and high loads are above about two-thirds maximum torque.
For high loads, detonation of the fuel-air mixture may produce high combustion rates and noise. For very low loads, the mixture is very lean and ignition may become unstable, with increased occurrence of misfire cycles. The main technical challenges are control of combustion initiation, timing and rate to achieve effective premixed combustion over an extended range of engine load. Another goal is to improve emission aftertreatment performance without compromising overall engine efficiency under operating conditions for which premixed combustion cannot be achieved.
The quantities of pollutants generated by incomplete combustion varies with operating conditions of the engine but are influenced predominantly by the air-to-fuel ratio in the combustion cylinder. Conditions conducive to reducing carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons, i.e., a fuel mixture just lean of stoichiometric and high combustion temperatures, cause an increased formation of NOx, and conditions conducive to reducing the formation of NOx, i.e., rich fuel mixture and low combustion temperatures, cause an increase in carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons in the exhaust gases. As a result, significant amounts of CO, HC and NOx are emitted within the region of stable operation of an internal combustion engine.
One approach for treating nitrogen oxides in exhaust gases is to incorporate a NOx adsorber, also referred to as a “lean-NOx trap,” in the exhaust lines. The NOx adsorber promotes the catalytic oxidation of nitrogen oxides by catalytic metal components effective for such oxidation, such as precious metals. The formation of NO2 is generally followed by the formation of a nitrate when the NO2 is adsorbed onto the catalyst surface. The NO2 is thus “trapped”, i.e., stored, on the catalyst surface in the nitrate form. The system can be periodically operated under fuel-rich combustion to regenerate the NOx adsorber. During this period of fuel-rich combustion, the absence of oxygen and the presence of a reducing agent promote the release and subsequent reduction of the stored nitrogen oxides. However, this period of fuel-rich combustion may also result in a significant fuel penalty.
As already noted, exhaust gas streams can further comprise particulate matter such as carbon-containing particles or soot. A particulate filter is commonly used with a compression-ignition engine to prevent the carbon particles or the soot from exiting a tailpipe. The particulate filter may be a stand-alone device separate and distinct from devices employing catalytic elements for removing undesirable NOx gaseous components. Carbon particles can be trapped in the particulate filter and then periodically burned to regenerate the filter.
Reformates are hydrogen-enriched fuels that can be produced from a variety of sources, including gasoline, diesel, and other liquid or gaseous fuels. On-board reformers for producing hydrogen-enriched reformate fuels are described in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,655,130 and 6,832,473 and U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2004/0146458 and 2005/0022450, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Combustion of a hydrogen-enriched reformate fuel produced by an on-board reformer can be employed to burn accumulated soot from a particulate filter, but the combustion needs to be carefully controlled to prevent overheating and consequent damage to the filter, in particular, the porous filter support. Controlling the soot-burning exotherm would, for example, permit the use of cordierite as a support material in place of the more expensive silicon carbide.
The motor vehicle exhaust system and process for removing soot from a particulate filter in accordance with the present invention provides for the controlled combustion of reformate with oxygen in the exhaust conduit, resulting in the effective removal of soot from a particulate filter, without attendant damage to the filter.